Bed sheeting arrangement



Dec. 5, 1961 A. R. BURKS 3,0 11,182

BED SHEETING ARRANGEMENT Filed May 31, 1960 3,011,182 BED SHEETENGARRANGEMENT Alice Rowe Burks, 1413 Norton Ave., Ann Arbor, Mich.

. I Filed May 31, 1960, Ser. No. 33,027 g Claims. (Cl. 5--335) Theinvention relates in general to mattress covering wetness oftentimessoil the usual sheeting. Additionally,

the invention may be used with youth beds for children who continue suchpractices beyond infancy; In the case of hospital patients, it isfrequently dangerous or at least awkward to change the bed sheetsaftereach such occurrence since the patient may have to remain in thebed during changing and should not be moved unnecessarily. In the caseof infants, there is a high frequency of sheet changing required.Although the, moisture is generallyrestricted to the lower portion ofthe bed, say from the waistof theoccupant down to the foot of the bed,it is still the usual practice to change the entire under I sheet. Inthe case of bedridden patients, this requires difiicult lifting andshifting of the patient to completely I I remove the usual sheet and toreplace it with a clean-one.

Accordingly, one'of the objects of this invention is to reduce thefrequency of changing of 'bed sheets. It is to be understood that thebed sheet concerned in regard to this invention is the usualunder'theoccupant sheet which covers the mattress.

Another object of this invention is tosimplify the normal lifting ofmattress requirements and shifting of occupant associated with the usualsheet changing practices.

It is another important object of the invention to provide a sheetarrangement which will reduce the laundering expense and time connectedwith the usual bed sheet changing.

Briefly, the present invention accomplishes these objects by providinga'waterproof mattress cover which is held tightly to the mattress andhaving securing means part way between the mattress head and foot endfor securing at least one half-sheet covering the head end of themattress. In this manner, moisture formingat the foot end of themattress cover may be conveniently and quickly sponged or wiped offwithout the necessity of changing the under sheeting with eachoccurrence.

i elastic straps 24.

These and other objects of the invention may readily be. understood whenreference is made to the following description and to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a View of the mattress having a cover in accordance with theinvention,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective of a bed with mattress arranged according tothe invention,

FIG. 3 shows in section one form of sheet securing means,

FIG. 4 shows in detail one form of mattress cover latch and sheetsecuring means, 7

FIG. 5 .shows in detail another form of sheet securing means,

FIG. 6 shows in detail the open end portion of the sheet and securingmeans,

.FIG. 7 shows in detail a 3,011,182 Patented Dec. 5, 1961 I FIG. 8illustrates a modification of the bed arrangement utilizing anadditional pad at the foot end of the bed.

Referring now to the drawing, the invetion may best 7 be understood withreference first to FIG. 1. A mattress '10 is shown through a cutawayportion of mattress cover 11. The cover 11 is firmly held to themattress by con- The strap fits underthe mattress to tightly hold thecover 11 to themattress and provides a rigid support for the half-sheetin a manner to be described. The portions 17 of the mattress cover aresturdy and may be constructed of reinforced fabric or canvas and'mayinclude.

metal plates to assure that slot 16 does not tear when the hooks 14 areinserted. Reinforcedportion 17 has upper tabs 18 and lower tabs 19.attached thereto for holding an upper and' lower half-sheet as will belater described. The cover 11 has openings 20 to allow air and so-calledbreathing of the mattress. The upper surface of cover 11 is shown asbeing mattedor quilted and should be of a plastic or non-slickwaterproof material. In this manner, any small amounts of moisture orwetness forming on the surface maybe readily wiped clean.

' FIG. 2 illustrates a mattress with its mattress cover 11 in place andwith a head half-sheet secured to reinforced portion 17 as well as afoot half-sheet similarly secured. Reference is now had to FIG. 3 for anunderstanding of one form of securing the half-sheet to the mattresscover. It is understood that the term half-sheet is meant to includeanarrangement where the sheet is physically slightly .more or less thanhalf of the long dimension of the mattress. In other words, the strap 13and/or securing tabs 18and 19 may be slightly offset from the mattresscenter as may be desired. Returning to FIG. 3, there is shown in partialsection mattress 10, cover 11, and one of the half-sheets 21. It isunderstood the closed end of the half-sl1eet.has two contoured cornersand fits snugly over the mattress cover at one end. The open end of thehalfsheet is held tightly to themattress cover so as to form averysecure fit by means of ho'oks'22 which are firmly attached to tabssuch as 18 or 19.- Thehooks engage eye members 23 which are attached tothe extremities of d When attaching the half-sheet, .the .closed.endwith contoured-corners is secured over the mattress end and theelastic straps are stretched to couple the hookand eyemembers 22 and 23.In this manner, the half-sheet is maintained snug at its closed and openends. It is now seen'that there-is anupward pull on the sides ofmattress cover 11 by straps 24 and the pull must be counteracted bytheheavy strap 13 which goes under the mattress' It is important thattheopen end of the half-sheet be maintained taut so as to prevent the bed.

occupant from catching his arms, fingers orbody portions underneath thatend. Moreover, when used on hospital beds where the mattress may bend ortilt at its middle, it is essential that the open end ofthe half-sheetbefirmly held in place; FIG. 7 -showsin section that the half-sheet 21may have a stiffening fabric 26 inserted in ahem of the open or free endin order to aid in keeping that tend tight against the flush surface ofthe mattresseave 7 FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a flap 27 which is attachedto reinforced portion 17 and extends up over the hooks 22, at least onthe outermost half-sheet. The purpose of flap 27 is to protect the hooks27 from accidentally catching a blanket or bed covering. It is expectedthat the hooks 22 may also be turned inwardly as shown in FIG. 3 to helpprevent the aforementioned catching. Moreover, if desired, the flap maybe attached to the head half-sheet and extend downwardly over the hooks22. PEG. 5 shows in detail two rows of. tabs 18 and 19 and it isunderstood that tabs 18 may be used to secure the open end of the headhalf-sheet whereas tabs 19 may be used for the foot half-sheet. Althoughone may be sufficient, several tabs 18 and 19 are illustrated and theirmounting points to reinforced portion 17 are on a tapered line. Theothers are provided to allow for non-uniformity and tolerances ofhalf-sheet length which may result from manufacture size discrepanciesor laundering shrinkage.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment where the tabs 18 and 19 may be providedwith conventional snap fasteners. It is understood that when snapfasteners replace the hook and eye members 22 and 23, one snap portion28 will be secured to tabs 18 and 19whereas the mating portion 29 shownin FIG. 6 will be secured to straps 24. In this arrangement, since thereare no sharp edges to catch blankets or covers, the flap 27 may beeliminated.

In both embodiments, the securing eye members 23 or snap members 29 maybe directly located on the halfsheet, thus eliminating straps 24 ifdesired. Also, tabs 18 and 19 can be eliminated with members 22 or 2 8fastened directly to reinforced portion 17. It is also contemplated thata version using less material could be provided by having the lower-halfonly of the mattress cover 11. It would be suitably secured to themattress as already explained by the strap 13.

In the use of this invention, it is contemplated that an upper or headhalf-sheet 21 should be secured over the mattress cover 11. In itssimplest form, that much constitutes the essentials of the invention.The patient or infant generally causes excess moisture only from thewaist down towards the foot end of the bed. The waterproof cover 11 maythen be wiped clean without the necessity of changing the half-sheet.Furthermore, should the head end half-sheet become soiled, it mayreadily be removed by releasing its securing means. In this manner,unnecessary laundering is minimized.

For a more sophisticated version of the invention, it is contemplated asshown in FIG. 2 that both a head end and a foot end half-sheet be used.Again, during normal usage, only the lower or foot end half-sheetbecomes soiled and it is unnecessary to remove the upper halfsheet asfrequently. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 8 it is contemplated that anextra pad 30 may be placed over a portion of the foot end and secured inplace as by snap fasteners 31 as shown. This arrangement may be desiredusing waterproof sheeting or the like when it is considered desirable tokeep the lower half of the bed protected. It is further anticipated thatadditional snap fasteners 32 may be provided to attach to matingportions on blankets or covers. In this manner, the covers will be keptin place and prevented from sliding off the bed. It is understood thatthe respective half-sheets 21 are undercut at 33 and 34, FIG. 8, so asto be noninterfering with the securing tabs 18 and 19. When bothhalf-sheets are used, it is anticipated that there be a slight overlapat the center surface of the mattress as shown to minimize bunching.

It should be apparent that modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is desiredthat the foregoing description shall be taken as illustrative and not aslimiting.

What I claim is:

'1. A bed covering arrangement comprising a mattress having an uppersurface of waterproof material, securing means positioned substantiallymidway between a head and a foot end of said mattress, a half-sheethaving contoured corners at its head end, said half-sheet configured tocover substantially half of said mattress surface while extending partway down the side walls of said mattress and having attaching membersextending from the side walls and open end of the half-sheet, resilientconnecting means urgingly joining said attaching members to saidsecuring means, whereby said half-sheet when in place may be firmly heldby its contoured corners at said mattress head end and tautly maintainedagainst said mattress at its open end as well as being releasablysecured at said midway position of said mattress- 2. A bed coveringarrangement for a mattress comprising a cover with a waterproof materialsurface and having means for fastening said cover to the mattress 'atits four corners, securing means positioned midway between a head andfoot end of said cover and adapted to receive two open cornersof anouter half-sheet, a half-sheet having a closed end for mounting over thehead of said mattress cover and an open end, said halfsheet configuredto cover substantially half of said mattress surface while extendingpart way down the side walls of said mattress, connecting means attachedto the two corners of said open end and formed to resiliently mate withsaid securing means, whereby said. half-sheet may releasably overlayonly the head portion of said waterproof cover and when in place beingmaintained firmly and tautly against said cover.

3. A bed covering arrangement as defined in claim 2 having an elasticstrap underlying the mattress counteracting the'tendency of saidconnecting means of permitting the open end of said half-sheet toloosely hug said mattress cover, said strap being releasably joined totwo sides of said waterproof cover at its said midway portion wherebysaid cover and open end of said halfsheet when in place are firmly heldagainst the mattress.

4. A bed covering arrangement for a mattress comprising a cover with awaterproof material surface, and having fastening means for attachingsaid cover to the upper surface of the mattress overlaying at least thefoot half of the mattress, said fastening means including an elasticstrap underlying the mattress at a position midway between the head andfoot end and releasably securing said waterproof cover firmly againstthe mattress upper surface, a half-sheet having two contoured cornersforming a closed end said half-sheet configured to cover substantiallyhalf of said mattress surface while extending part way down the sidewalls of said mattress and having an open end with uniting meansextending from said side walls of said half-sheet-for joining to matingmembers located on said cover midway between the mattress head and footend, whereby said half-sheet closed end may encompass the head end ofthe mattress and the half-sheet open end may be held firmly against theupper surface of the mattress by said uniting means held urgingly bysaid elastic strap.

5. A bed covering arrangement as defined in claim 4 having a reinforcedfabric portion located at, said midway position of said waterproof coverto securely receive a hook member on said elastic strap.

6. A bed covering arrangement as defined in claim 5 whereby said unitingmeans include eye members at-- tached to said side Walls of saidhalf-sheet and said mating members include mating hook elements securedto said reinforced fabric portion.

7. A bed covering arrangement as defined in claim 5 whereby said unitingmeans include snap fastener means attached to said side walls of saidhalf-sheet and said mating members include mating snap fasteners securedto said reinforced fabric portion.

8. A bed covering arrangement as defined in claim 5 having a pluralityof said mating members located on said reinforced fabric portionselectively positioned apart to accommodate differently-sizedhalf-sheets.

9. A bed covering arrangement as defined in claim 5 6 wherein saidreinforced fabric portion includes further wardly from the mattress andwhereby said hook elements non-interfering mating members forjoiningfurther uniting are thereby prevented from snagging objects. meanslocated on a foot end half-sheet which may overlay the foot end of themattress and whereby a soiled References Cited in the file of thispatent foot end half-sheet may be removed independently of 5 UNITEDSTATES PATENTS said head end half-sheet.

10. A bed covering arrangement as defined in claim 6 Gerry Sept 1941 t 2516 363 Block et a1. July 25 1950 whereby sald mating hook elements haveat protecting flap member positioned at said reinforced fabric portionout- 2567072 Kay Sept 1951 Patent No $011,182 December 5,, 1961 AliceRoweBurks It is hereby certified that error a entrequiring correctionand that the corrected below.

ppears in {the above numbered patsaid Letters Patent should read as Inthe heading to. the printed s pecification, line 3, for "1413 NortonAve. read 1413 Mort on Aveo Signed and sealed this 29th day of May 1962,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

